December 18, 2013

The Cowboys signed receiver Michael Spurlock, released by the Detroit Lions two weeks ago, to help on punt and kickoff returns and as a backup in case Terrance Williams can’t recover from a hamstring injury.

Spurlock played in nine games for the Lions before being released Dec. 7. He averaged 22.5 yards on 15 kickoff returns and 6.6 yards on 22 punt returns. For his career, he has a 24.5-yard average on kickoffs with three touchdowns and a 9.0 average on punts with two touchdowns.

The Cowboys’ top returner, Dwayne Harris, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, averaged 30.5 yards on kickoffs and 14.0 on punts.

The Cowboys also signed defensive tackle Frank Kearse off the Tennessee Titans practice squad. Kearse was drafted in the seventh round in 2011 out of Alabama A&M by the Carolina Panthers. He has appeared in 14 games with 23 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup, two hurries and one tackle for loss.

The Cowboys also added former Texas A&M linebacker Jonathan Stewart to the practice squad.